New York Giants Saquon Barkley
(Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

For the first time since December 2016, the New York Giants have won back-to-back games, earning the second in a wild showdown at home.

Geoff Magliocchetti

  • New York Giants 38 (3-7)
  • Tampa Bay Buccaneers 35 (3-7)
  • NFL, Final, Box Score
  • MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ

For the second consecutive week, the New York Giants engaged in one of the more entertaining games of the NFL week, while also proving why they were wallowing in the depths of the league. At the same time, though, they’re happy to emerge with their second consecutive win.

Eli Manning threw just one incompletion all day in earning 231 yards and two scores, while Saquon Barkley added 142 yards on the ground, complementing three personal scores in a 38-35 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. With the win, the Giants have won back-to-back games for the first time since December 2016.

It was clear from the get-go that Sunday was to be the Saquon Barkley show, as the rookie tallied 22 yards on his first drive of the game. Aided by a 41-yard hookup between Manning and Odell Beckham Jr., Barkley scored the Giants’ first touchdown of the day from six yards out, on a throw from Eli Manning.

After the defense forced the Buccaneers into a turnover on downs, with starting quarterback stopped five yards away from the goal line on fourth and one, the Giants went 95 yards on 12 plays, ending with Barkey’s five-yard score. At no point in the second drive did the Giants face a third down.

Tampa Bay would strike back courtesy of Fitzpatrick, whose goal-line score narrowed the tally to 14-7.

Tampa Bay’s quest to tie the game went for naught, however. In the dying stages of the first half, Michael Thomas’ clutch interception in Giants territory kept the score where it was. The Giants would pick up right where they left off in the early stages of the second half, but this time, things would be even more prosperous. A Fitzpatrick pass was bobbled by Janoris Jenkins, but Alec Ogletree swiped the ball away from the ground, taking it in for a 15-yard score to give the Giants early momentum they would mostly keep.

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One more mistake was too much for the beleaguered Buccaneers to bear. After another Fitzpatrick interception to Curtis Riley led to a Giants field goal, this one being a 52-yard triple from Aldrick Rosas, Tampa inserted Jameis Winston.

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The quarterback substitution transformed the game into an offensive shootout, as the Bucs earned scores on their next four possessions. Two of the scores came from the arm of Winston, who finished the game with 199 yards on just 16 attempts.

The Giants, however, kept Tampa Bay in check with a score each from Beckham and Barkley countering the Winston comeback efforts. As the points accumulated, time ticked away, and the Giants were able to escape with a victory.

B.W. Webb would seal the deal with the Giants, taking away a Winston desperation throw on a final drive.

Former Giant Jason Pierre-Paul had a sack and a half in his return to MetLife Stadium.

The Giants, now 3-7 and perhaps in the thick of the NFC East playoff chase after the Alex Smith injury in Washington, will next take on the Philadelphia Eagles on the road next Sunday (1:00 p.m. ET, Fox).

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